Eveready Lines Up Rural Push For Batteries, Tea

Alcohol when mixed with pet-rol can significantly reduce pollutants in vehicular emission.

While the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is in an advanced stage of research on the utility of the admixture as an environmental friendly fuel, the government is in talks with the All India Distillers' Association (AIDA) to supply alcohol at low costs for mixing with petrol to power motor vehicles.

The price at which the alcohol would be made available for the purpose has yet not been settled. Negotiations are on.

According to the distillers' association, the anti-pollution characteristics of the mixture has already been tested and proved by different research institutions, including those in the country. Even the Bureau of Indian Standards has allowed the mixing of up to 10 per cent of alcohol with petrol to make an environment-friendly fuel. Its efficacy is beyond doubts, the distillers say.

 

The matter was referred to by CPCB chairman Dilip Biswas yesterday during the inaugural session of a training programme on environment audit and waste management in the distillery industry organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

Biswas said the price at which distilleries were willing to sell the input was high. At this price level, the production cost of alcohol would come to Rs 18.5 a litre whereas the production cost of petrol comes to only Rs 5-6 per litre. Therefore, he urged the distillers to lower the price so that the product could be marketed and its use popularised.

AIDA secretary general L N Batra, however, told Business Standard that their production cost, inclusive of the overhead costs, actually comes to over Rs 21 per litre. However, without taking into account the overheads they had offered to sell at Rs 18.5 a litre only. He pointed out that in the case of petrol, the production cost without taxes comes to Rs 9 and not Rs 5-6 as claimed and, therefore, the price the distillers were asking for was not unfair.

A 5 to 10 per cent alcohol admixture with petrol reduces carbon monoxide emissions, which are carcinogenic, by as much as 26 to 30 per cent.

Another gain is that for addition of 2 per cent of oxygen one has to use 2 kg of MTB_ the other oxygenate--but in the case of alcohol one has to use only one litre of it to get as much oxygen.

Batra said such a fuel suited conventional engines of both old and new vehicles fitted with carburettors.